Ukrainian Minister of Agriculture Mykola Solsky, who was suspected of an illegal land deal, has submitted his resignation, Ruslan Stefanchuk, the Speaker of the Ukrainian Parliament, announced on Facebook on Thursday. The speaker added: the minister’s request for resignation will be considered by the legislature at one of the upcoming plenary sessions. Solsky confirmed on Facebook that he had indeed submitted his resignation to the parliament, MTI wrote.
The Ukrainian anti-corruption agency initiated proceedings against Solsky recently. He was suspected of having participated in the illegal acquisition of state land worth 291 million hryvnias (2.7 billion forints) for his agricultural holding, as well as an attempt to acquire land worth another 190 million hryvnias (1.8 billion forints).
The minister denies these allegations. “There was no corruption. No one received any money,” he wrote in his statement presented by public television. He previously stated that in 2017, when he worked as a lawyer, he represented private individuals in a dispute with state companies over land in Sumi County.
In a post on the Facebook page of the Ministry of Agriculture of Ukraine, he wrote: “Yes, I have written my letter of resignation from the post of minister. I think this is the right move in this situation. If the parliament decides to accept my resignation, I will be grateful for such a decision, and if they decide to continue working, then I will continue working.”
